The TRV840 can also be used as a digital still camera, recording megapixel stills onto the included 8 MB Memory Stick, or it can record MPEG movies. MPEG movies usually are much smaller than DV footage, and can more readily be e-mailed, or posted on the Web. Unlike most MPEG modes, however, the TRV840 lets you record for as long as you want, your only limit is the size of the Memory Stick.

Sony put in a 15x optical zoom and paired it with Super SteadyShot image stabilization. Image stabilization is a handy technology that helps to eliminate the shakiness associated with high zoom levels. The only way to avoid shakiness completely is to utilize a tripod, table, or other stable surface. The 3.5-inch LCD is the best way to frame your shots, although you can use the black-and-white EVF to preserve battery life.

In addition to the normal slew of ports (IEEE 1394, S-Video, Mini AV) that have made their way onto TRV840, there's also a USB port, which, with some included software, offers some interesting functions. There is also one very important port on the TRV840: a mic input. Not only do most camcorders have poor built-in microphones, but also they are often situated too near the tape mechanism, meaning you get the annoying throbbing sound of the tape pulled through the heads.

The DCR-TRV840 comes with a power adapter, InfoLithium battery, 8 MB Memory Stick, remote control, two AA batteries, AV cable, lens cap, shoulder strap, USB cable, and software CD-ROM.

Product Description
Loaded with Megapixel quality, outstanding Digital8 recording and MPEG Movie EX, the DCR-TRV840 includes a 3.5" Swivelscreen LCD for superior framing and video playback capabilities. You are also able to achieve 520 lines of horizontal resolution by the powerful combination of Digital8 recording and it's Megapixel CCD. Or simply point and record as you will be assured the top of the line performance from your Digital8 camcorder.

Summary: Exceptional video, excellent sound, 1 MP digital stills (Great for email or web posting). Able to convert any video to digital, 8mm inside the camera or other video by pass through. A great feature if you have old videos you want to digitize. Just make sure your PC is up to the task!

For my specific needs of great digital video and the ability to digitize old tapes, I can overlook the excess bulk. Videos should be short and sweet anyway, so I'll just put it down when my hand starts to ache! If you need the same features, the TRV840 can't be beat.


Best D8 camcoder   April 24, 2002
 17 out of 64 found this review helpful

I bought this product recently and shoot video. Results are very good. I alsoo took Pictures on memory stick and printed out. They are very good quality pics. I also tried out MPEG movie function which is very good feature available on this product.

I am very excited having this camcoder.


Why TRV740 over TRV840?   October 15, 2002
 16 out of 16 found this review helpful

Why TRV740 over TRV840? It (TRV740) costs ...less so why would people be dumb enough to get the 740 and get a smaller 2.5" screen?

Simple. Smaller screens use less battery power when you want to use the LCD while shooting. Sure one can argue you can lower the brightness of both models but all that electricity going into powering an extra 30-40% of LCD screen puts on extra weight for a heavier battery demand.

Remember bigger isn't always better. I own a TRV740 and played with a friend's TRV840 and found it to drain battery at a much quicker rate especially when playing back video. Don't get me wrong, I was still envious of the bigger screen.

The motor still produces noise on both models. It's true what they say- that the noise buzzing gets recorded on the tape. I swear on my cat that this is true. The motor spins twice as fast when compared to a Hi8 system (new data transfer method using old infrastructure), hence the louder noise when comparing it to a lower-end yet quieter Hi8. It makes no difference if you are just shooting for fun or on the beach where the ambient noise is high anyway.

I did research on the web and found that almost everyone talked about the noise in the Digital 8 sony models. When will Sony improve their motor mechanisms?

I thought about returning the camcorder to circuit city the day I bought it due to the buzzing motor noise but grew attached to it. All the special features were indeed very impressive. Especially the continuous Mpeg recording on the memory stick.

Hope this helped.


Well Worth the Money   December 3, 2002
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

This is a great camera! It is very easy to use. It takes very clear digital video, and for 1 megapixel CCD takes good digital pictures. It has many neat features. It has a large LCD screen for easy reviewing.

It records Mpeg files on the memorystick for display on computers. This is a great feature although the files recorded are a little grainy. This is great for e-mailing vacation movies back to family members.

The quality of the digital video is great. The bad thing is that you don't get much recording time on one tape. It uses 2 hour analog tapes, but when you record in digital mode you only get 1 hour on each tape.

The picture taking feature is wonderful for vacation. You don't have to carry both a still camera and a video camera around with you. The pictures are only 1 megapixel, but they show up on a computer screen great. We were very pleased with the results of the pictures.

The battery life is very long. We purchased a separate quick charger for our batteries which was a great addition. It doesn't take much time to charge and they last quite a while compared to our old Minolta camcorder.


Great camcorder, but noisy   March 20, 2003
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This is a very nice camcorder for the money. I love the larger view screen, and the battery lasts quite a long time. The picture quality is very good, but there is considerable noise from the motor that gets recorded on the tape. If you're taping a birthday party or sporting event, the noise isn't too bad, but if you're using it to record the birds chirping on a quiet morning, forget it; the noise from the motor will drown out anything you'd be able to hear, it's that loud. Lastly, I have had several old 8mm tapes from my old camcorder that will not play on this camcorder. They will play on my neighbor's 8mm Samsung camcorder, but not on this Sony. I was a little upset by this.